The first probe to enter investigate
the binary system of Sirius (the brightest star in the Terran night sky)expected to find a fascinating but lifeless system, rich in rare elements
and metallic asteroids but due to the eccentric orbit of the two stars unlikely
to have a viable world far enough from Sirius for carbon-based life to evolve.

What
it discovered on the greenhouse world of Sirius III came as something of a
shock to the scientists back home. Analysis of the scorching hot surface of
the world uncovered curious “forests” of a diamonoid
material across the solid surface of the planet (Sirius III seas being a deadly
mix of molten light metals)

When
a lander robot was put together using the probe’s limited Neumann capabilities
it discovered that the structures were artificial in origin, being fashioned
by silicon based nano-machines which fashioned the carbon on the world into
crystal like structures in which they lived, reproduced and harnessed energy
from Sirius A.

Such
a bizarre and presumably artificial eco-system warranted further exploration
and with the ample resources of the Sirius system (Sirius has 7.4 times the
abundance of elements other than hydrogen when compared to Sol, a rich system
in itself) funding for a manned mission was not hard to find.

A
consortium of Japanese, British, German, Russian and Korean companies, orbitals
and institutes funded the venture that departed Sol in 2085. Setting up base
camp on one of Sirius Prime’s 14 asteroid moons in 2098 the early days of
Sirius were comparable to Barnards
Star for its story of isolation, scientific achievement, and the claustrophobia
symptomatic of life spent in flimsy space stations and asteroid caverns.

But
Sirius’s ample bounty allowed the early colony to prosper, a twenty kilometre
wide biosphere cavern was created on First Rock to give the thousand or so
scientists, astro-engineers and support staff a relatively natural setting
in which to do their work.

The
first sample-return probes from the surface of Sirius Prime revealed the true
technological wonder of the nano-machines. Despite being made up of mostly
inorganic compounds they mimicked life in every aspect even down to using
DNA-like molecules of silicon to transmit information from one generation
of nanites to
the next. Not only had the nanites evolved into many species constructing
their own designs of "http://www.angelfire.com/realm2/comgalaxy/nanotech.html">diamond
trees” (or diamond warrens, diamond corals and even diamond spheres which
with the help of strong winds roll across the tempestuous plains of the world)
but one enterprising team of Japanese programmers believed they could be reprogrammed
(or trained, depending on your view) to work for humanity.

Cracking the code was tricky and
took 30 years during which the advances in nano-technology on many other worlds
threatened to overtake the Sirian projects but with a planet full of nanites
able to be “bred” to construct orbital towers and space habitats the potential
was inspiring.

Konigsberg Habitat c.2160

During the 22nd century
many groups flocked to Sirius to take advantage of economic boom the re-programmed
nano’s brought. Setting up a habitat in one of the many hundreds of thousands
of rich asteroids in the system was as simple as letting loose the right breed
of nano’s and Neumann units on a rock, sitting back with an entertaining spool
and waiting for the money to come in.

Despite giving the impression of a “gold rush” and the subsequent capitalist
anarchy that would ensue, co-operation was a key feature of the blossoming
Sirian culture. The prospect of living life as a grizzled prospector alone
for months on end in a tin can or cave didn’t appeal to most (notable exceptions
being the near-legendary recluse Ole’ Smoky who is said to live in the frozen
belts of Sirius B, more on him later!)

By 2200AD the standard practice was for a publicly owned company
to be set up in an asteroid which after mining and developing the rock began
a move to more high-tech industry (obviously nano-templates and nanites were
the principle industries) and constructing vast space habitats,
to rival those orbiting Earth. With no natural
biosphere to seek refuge on maintaining the environment in the asteroids was
of paramount importance requiring constant monitoring and upkeep

Leasing out various services such as waste management or volatile
shipment to companies based on profit was shown to be inefficient and dangerous
(such as the Neo Seoul disaster of 2147 and the temporary abandonment of Wolfgang
Habitat due to poisonous levels of CO2 in 2213) and thanks to a number of
Neo-Marxist
movements that sprang up on a number of British, German and Russian ethnic
colonies during the 2150s an advanced form of socialism became the norm culminating
in the Techno-Socialist
Unity foundation amongst various habitats around Sirius Prime in 2165AD

This
wasn’t the sort of socialism of the 20th century with an oppressive
security force clamping down on dissent and individuality suppressed by a
power hungry elite but more a democratic cybernetic collective where the state
is every sentient being in the colony. Some factions in Sirius fearing some
sort of Soviet style dictatorship or fearing public opinion could get in the
way of a fast buck fled to more capitalist systems such as Barnard’s Star
or Epsilon
Eridani but for most the transition from the lassiez-faire free-for-all
of the 22nd century to Unity of the 23rd was a sensible
response to their environment.

With
most habitats running along the same ideological lines fears in other systems
of some charismatic dictator seizing control of the system, building up some
vast “Red” army and storming other nearby systems became widespread. Such
worries were unfounded for three reasons, one being establishing a relativistic
empire of force would be extremely difficult(as the Beta
Comae war proved), the inhabitants of Sirius like most people in the known
universe were very cynical people, who could spot someone with delusions of
power and oppression a light year off and finally one of the key points of
the declaration of the Techno-Socialist Unity in 2165 was that no one habitat,
group or entity could gain power without consent of others.

But
for some the left-wing ideology of Sirius was scary, whether it was deep-seated
prejudice against socialism or a racial memory of the pain and terror that
had plagued Earth during the 20th century (but then that era was
commonly referred to as the closet humanity ever came to destroying itself.)
The more conservative systems such as Epsilon Indi,
Delta
Pavonis and Sol
shunned Sirius while more revolutionary places such as Iota Persei
and later on Alnair
and Arcturus
held up Sirius as an example that in space anything could and should happen
in the world of politics.

With
the advent of warp
travel the Sirian nations expanded their operation to nearby resource-rich
but lifeless systems such as Procyon, Fomalhaut, Vega all hot white stars
surrounded by disks of asteroids and proto-planets and ignored by most. Just
as the inhabitants of Barnard’s Star set about colonising red and orange dwarf
systems in the Core so the Sirians had a talent for making a go of colonies
around young, hot stars and in metal rich asteroids.

Trade
with other star systems exploded as cheap imports of nano-tech; robotics and
cybernetics flooded the fledgling interstellar economy. This brought even
greater wealth to the system which was channelled into more ambitious astro-engineering
projects such as the vast shipyards of Bristol around the very large gas giant
Marx which orbits Sirius B and the 750 kilometer diameter habitat ring Engels.
Despite incredible wealth coming into Sirius and its colonies the kilo-scale
engineering projects required great community spirit that in turn strengthened
the socialist nature of the Unity.

With
the economic stability and extropian nature of Sirius it became a vocal supporter
of the Community,
even for a while being the front-runner for housing the official Community
real-space infrastructure. The Sirian Unity promoted revolutionary movements
throughout Community space (such as its involvement in the overthrowing of
the racist regime of Arcturus,
and as some have argued personally responsible for its subsequent Communist
successors) but were always wary of those who would advocate extreme violence
and anti-democratic beliefs in spite of socialist sympathies.

By
the 25th century Sirius had become a strong voice in the Concourse
with almost three hundred system’s claiming close association with it and thousands
of asteroid colonies throughout inhabited space proud of their connection
with the Sirian Unity (as well as taking a great pleasure in being awkward
with the capitalist policies of their adopted systems)

The
Sirians had grown to be a powerful force to be reckoned with and had established
diplomatic and trading connections with nations outside of the Community,
mainly with Velge colonies who shared a similar heritage of socialism and
co-operation in adverse environments.

Sirian trading vessels became ubiquitous in
foreign space and in the face of their socialist roots were quite the fierce
competitors for lucrative trade routes though their nature caused prejudice
amongst some of the more traditional Sagre worlds

During
this period of great expansion the Sirians themselves became a more and more ingerated society with quite a few examples of collective mind
groups appearing throughout its many habitats and systems. Projects melding
the minds of organics with that of artificial consciousness were started in
a bid to create unity between the two types of mindkind (though such technological
and philosophical undertakings were common around this period) and Sirius
became one of the first examples of a successful partnership between organic
and artificial intellects.

Were
it not for the Sirian’s die-hard support of the Community
some have argued that they could have become quite a powerful independent
nation in the galactic arena but towards the end of the 25th century
many younger generations of Sirius and its allies felt that their culture
was becoming too stifling and featureless and left to set up their own societies
around young hot A and F class stars, notably in the Hyades
Sector and later in systems such as Rolze Theta, Bellatrix and Hadar.

Also as Sirian ideology became more and more
accepted systems that used to swear allegiance to Sirius loosened their ties
with the mother system and went their own way. The Sirians became victims
of their own success as their once revolutionary ideals became more diluted
and copied in the Community

Movements
sprang up in Unity systems championing diversity and disunity claiming that
Sirian ways were becoming too rigid and oppressive. This minority is most
vocal in the more settled Core sectors where life is comfortable and habitats
are huge and spacious rather than outward colonies where co-operation and
harmony are more key to survival than an ideological viewpoint.

Today
the Sirian Unity exists at the left wing of most politics within the Concourse
always ready to argue against the mega-corps and capitalism at its most rampant.
It played a key role in the Zarquon
war with many vessels of the powerful Sirian Navy at the forefront of
the war including the liberation of Cesola Prime and the defence and support
of its friends in the Xiv
sectors.

Sirius
is one of the oldest systems in the Community and as such is packed full of
history which hundred of millions of tourists flock to each year. These days
most marvel at the pinnacle of Community mega-scale engineering the Sirian
Ring, a Banksian type Orbital 200,000 kilometres in diameter and with a habitable
surface area many times that of any one world in Community space.

Completed
in 2705 it is now the focal point of society in the Sirian system, orbiting
Sirius A in the habitable zone and home to almost 5 billion entities. Sirians
are justly proud of their habitats which each century push the limits of engineering
just that bit further. Some day they plan to build a Dyson sphere though such
an achievement is quite some way away.

There
are many characters and celebrities who are native to Sirius, one of which
is the legendary reclusive prospector from the mid relativity age (2150s)
Ole’ Smoky. Born on

Finding
the “mother lode” he set about building his own personal utopia utilising
nano-tech with android copies of people from his past servicing his every
material need and personal whim. Fading more and more into the dim outward
belts of the Sirian system he has either transcended into some posthuman state,
been overthrown by AC’s
of his private utopia or left Sirius altogether.

Whatever
the case Ole’ Smoky has entered the realm of urban myth with real stories
of encounters with Smokey’s robot drones or one of the few occasions when
outsiders have been allowed into Smokey’s domain being twisted out of all
proportion and sensationalised in intergalactic media.

Whatever the current fate of Ole’ Smokey it
is taken as a cautionary tale of loneliness and bitterness in deepest space
and a warning that some people shouldn’t be left to their own devices!